RAINBOW AND THE RAINS

If you want to see the rainbow, you must be ready to face the rains. A rainbow is seen after the rains.

Sometimes our lives are so heavily burdened with pain and suffering that we tend to give up. We are unable to foresee happiness. The Psalmist gives us the assurance that burdens are temporary for those who trust in The Lord. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning”(Psalm 30:5). The Psalmist sings “Even though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me”(Psalm 23:4).

A British submarine was once stranded underwater due to a mechanical failure. They lost communication with rescue teams. Time began to run out and they grew weaker and weaker for lack of oxygen. One crew member grew extremely weak and was about to collapse. The commander suggested that all sing the hymn ‘Abide with me’, the words of which read “The darkness deepens, Lord with me abide. When other helpers fail, Lord with me abide”. As they began to sing, the weak crew member collapsed, his body hitting against the vessels’ surface facing equipment and very strangely, the submarine began to rise. They all reached the port safely. This incident may remind us of what Corrie ten Boom, survivor of the Holocaust wrote “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God”. We are safer in a storm with God than anywhere else without Him.

Saint Augustine says “If sorrow makes us shed tears, Faith in God dries them up”. He urges us “Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to His love and the future to His providence”.

We may at times feel God is punishing us. God never punishes, He purifies. Quite often, this purification comes in the form of gentle trials. Those who have strong Faith in God will not only draw strength to go through these temporary trials, but will also see God’s purpose in it.

A lady went to see a silversmith at his workshop. He placed a piece of impure silver on a tong and placed it into the middle of the flame. She asked “Why do you place it at the middle of the flame?”. He replied “That is the hottest point of the flame, where impurities burn off”. “Do you have to sit here the whole day?” she asked. “Yes” he said “I have not only to sit here the whole day, but I also have to keep my eyes on this piece of silver till it is purified”. “How do you know when it is purified?” she asked. He replied “Till I see my image on it like a mirror”. Prophet Malachi says “The Lord shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver”(Malachi 3:3).

Fr.Adolf Washington is a priest belonging to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangalore.
Currently the Parish priest of Our Lady of Fathima Church, Jalahalli in Bangalore. Fr. Adolf is also the President, of the Prestigious Indian Catholic Press Association(ICPA) and has penned numerous articles and books on varied topics.
Few of his the other portfolio’s Fr.Adolf holds includes:
Chief Editor and Managing Director SAR News.